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During alumni week at L&C college, several food carts arrived to peddle their culinary wares. A $10 entry fee allowed participants to sample food from any and all of the carts, including pizza, BBQ, pies, and Asian food.

Now 2011 is nearly over, and I see that it has been quite some time since we've updated the blog. Looks like we left off with the end of July, when we had visitors from China staying with us. So, I'll pick up the action with the beginning of August 2011. We had a BIG August - with a 2 week stay on the island of Oahu in Hawaii! This trip was courtesy of, and because of, Rod's Parent's 50th Wedding anniversary. Together with Rod's parents we spent a wonderful, warm and busy two weeks exploring the island of Oahu. Click on the link below (blue underlined words) for an album of pictures of our Hawaii adventure:

After Hawaii, came getting ready for another school year. Shelby packed up and we took her back to college and helped her get moved into a new dorm room. Camden started middle school this year, which is quite a change from the small elementary school he's attended since Kindergarten. So far, he seems to be adapting to the change quite well, and is getting stellar grades in all classes. For electives, he is taking choir and drama, and seems to enjoy both. He has also become a bicycle commuter, and has ridden to and from school everyday, regardless of the weather. The school is only a couple of miles away, and he seems to like the relatively quick bike trip instead of the much longer bus route. Click on the link below (blue underlined words) if you'd like to see some back to school pictures.

In September, Rod's parents had a party for their 50th wedding anniversary, attended by lots of family and friends. There was plenty of food and great stories being told. Click on the link below (blue underlined words), if you'd like to see some pictures of this celebration

October and November were busy with the usual work and school activities, with some boy scouts and other stuff thrown in there too from time to time. That brings us to December, and Christmas. We have had a very merry Christmas season, and certainly hope that you are also blessed during this holiday season. You can click on the small images below to make them bigger.

In July, for two weeks, we hosted two 16 year old students from China. During this time, they attended class during the day (using Tri-met to commute to and from downtown Portland each day), and then we took around and show them sites in the evenings and on weekends. For their time here in the USA, they took on American-type names, as their own names in Chinese are hard to pronounce.

Just as we had done for previous Harry Potter movies (and book releases too!) we were there for the just-after-midnight showing of the final Harry Potter movie - The Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Shelby even made us some cool shirts for the event. The 3D was very impressive for this movie.

Camp Easton on Lake Couer d'alene in Idaho was the destination for this years Troop 259 Boy Scout camp. In addition to some great camping, due to the timing, we got to celebrate Independence Day and Camden's birthday while at camp. Here are some pictures of the festivities: (click on small pics to make them larger.)

Reading to go:

Camden and Christian:

The whole gang:

On the bus:

Our campsite at Camp Easton:

Camden right after he passed his swimming test!

Boating on the lake on July 4:

Doing some fishing (but no catching):

Camden got a surprise when he returned to camp to find that his tent had been decorated:

Lewis & Clark College's "South Campus" is the site of a former Franciscan nunnery. Prior to that it was the Corbett family manor and property. Today, we were fortunate to get a tour of the buildings and property, led by a nun who was a former resident. We learned a lot of fascinating history of the place.

It was Grandpa Van's birthday, and he chose the Roadhouse for his birthday dinner. This place is a red meat-eater's paradise, and the birthday boy even got a huge "messy sundae" for dessert (which he shared with everyone). Happy Birthday Van!

Cats doing what cats do best, including Charlie in a box and Shadow basking in the sun:

And, cause for celebration, Camden's 6th grade spring project. That makes 14 total at two per year since kindergarten. This project was on the Wright Brothers. Camden took on the persona of the oft-forgotten Wright Brothers mechanic, Charles Taylor, for his presentation. In case you are wondering, Charles Taylor was the Wright Brothers bike mechanic and friend, who invented and built the engine for the Wright Brothers plane.

This weekend Shelby competed in the 10K event at the home meet for her team. What's a 10K? It's only 25 times around the track! She shaved 10 minutes off of her previous 10K time, even though it rained. Mom and Grandma Nan got to watch the race. Way to go Shelby!

Hiking wearing snowshoes? Camping in the snow? Well, I'd never done it before, so why not give it a try. Let me say first, it was a lot of fun. Along with 10 boy scouts (including my own), the scout master, and one mom, we embarked on a journey to Trillium Lake. We figure it was probably a mile and a half with full packs and wearing snow shoes to the campground. The campground is buried under 4 or 5 feet of snow, so I guess you'd say we camped above the campground (notice in one picture that the boys found one of the campground picnic tables and used it as a snow fort.) We also pulled a number of sleds with extra gear such as tarps, ropes and firewood. Here are some pictures of our adventure:

Above, we have arrived at the parking lot on Mt. Hood, and begin gearing up for our journey down the trail to the campground.

Above, the boys at the beginning of the journey.

Above, the boys trekking down the trail.

Above, stopping at a fork in the road for a lesson in map reading.

Above, seconds after this shot was taken, the snowball left his hand and connected with my forehead!

On February 24 of 2011, we experienced some of the worst winter weather so far this season. A little later than "normal" and, well, quite frankly, not really all that serious. Some pictures Karen took around her workplace:

Did you get our Christmas card in the mail? If so, you saw that website address on the card, and thought you'd check it out. Welcome to our blog! Scroll and click around to your hearts content if you would like to see what we've been up to. You can start with the fill-in-the-blanks portion below if you'd like.

Intro:

Another year has _____________, and it seems like only yesterday that we were ________________.

Rod:

Rod is still _____________ at Reynolds High School. In his spare time he still likes to __________, and also loves to ______________________ with ________________. Over the summer, he spent a lot of time __________________ with his _____________________, but also found the time to _________ whenever there was ___________________ and ______________.

Karen:

Karen continues to _____________________ at Lewis & Clark College. This past year the college ________________ so she is now _______________________. As you may recall, she now has the position of ______________________ with the ______________, so that also takes up some of her time and ______________________. Around the house, Karen has been ______________________ and _____________________ quite a bit. She still enjoys __________________ and ______________ too.

Shelby:

Shelby is attending ______________________ in ____________________. Her current focus is ______________, and she also is a member of the ____________________ and ____________ teams. She seems to be adjusting to _______________________ well, and has been enjoying meeting _______________, while still getting opportunities to spend time with ______________ during visits ____________________. Her parents are proud and more than a little bit ______________ that she was awarded a ____________________________. She graduated last spring from _______________ with both a ________________ diploma and an _________________________ diploma. Because of all her hard work and challenging course work in high school, she already has _______________ standing at ___________________.

Camden:

Camden is now a ______________________, and as such he has been working on completing the requirements to get several ___________________________. He is really interested in _____________________ now, but also still likes to _____________________ and ________________. This year he is in ______________ grade at _____________________. There, he still plays the __________________ and is a member of the ____________________ band again this year. Near the beginning of the school year he got to go to ____________________ at ________________ and came back plenty dirty and tired which we assume to mean he had a great time. Over the summer he attended ___________________ camp at ________________, and had a good time there as well. One of his favorite things to do is go to _____________________ with his __________________.

Conclusion:

That pretty much wraps it up. I hope you have enjoyed reading about our year 2010. If you have any questions about the above information that we can clarify, feel free to call or write to us!

This weekend Camden and I, along with 30 or so Boyscouts and about a dozen chaperones, did some hiking and hanging out at Silver Falls.

The hike:

And the Hangin' Out:

Here's our dinner cooking in the fire pit at the ranch house we stayed in. A veritable Dutch Oven Feast of homemade Chili and Beef Stew. Very yummy! Also in these pics you can see the Boy Scout musicians practicing their instruments, and also the parents resting their tired feet and bodies by the fire after our hike around the falls.

Sunday morning we woke up to a silvery landscape covered in frost, then at around noon as we were preparing to leave, the snow came!

This year Camden put together a costume interpretation of science fiction time traveler Dr. Who. Along with his friend Logan, as a Mage Knight, they went out trick or treating on their own this year for the first time without adult supervision.

Each year around Halloween, the science department at Lewis & Clark college has an evening "open house" in their venomous spider lab. Camden and Logan had a great time seeing spiders get "milked," and looking at various arachnids under the high power microscopes in the lab.

On August 22, we took Shelby and a van full of her "stuff" to college. New students don't have to report until the Thursday before Labor Day, but fall athletes had to report early for training, and Shelby is on the cross country team. Here are some pics of the big move:

If you've ever driven I-205 near Gladstone, then you might have noticed the giant U.S. Flag that flies at the Harley Davidson dealer near the freeway - Team Latus Motors. Well, from time to time, that big flag gets worn and must be replaced. And, who do you call when you have a flag that needs to be retired? Well, one option is to call the Boy Scouts. Camden's troop and some other local boy scout troops participated in folding the giant flag for retirement. The actual retirement of the flag will take place at a later date. Here's some pictures of the boys (and other helpers) folding the flag. It is estimated that the flag weighs 40+ pounds!